Arranged
by Ritu
Summary: Mikan and Natsume come from two families who have had an uneasy truce for as long as anyone could remember. Now for some reason, the parents want them to get together to present a 'united front' to a common enemy. Mikan calls bullshit but Natsume is interested. It seems like as good a chance as any to finally start dating someone he has been secretly friends with for over a decade.
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: It has been a really long while since I posted something here. I hope you guys like it. I will probably be putting this story up on a few other places, with some changes.

Do let me know if I should continue it here or just stick to where I am writing now. Or if I should continue this story at all.

**Chapter 1 **

"You want me to date him because you said so?" Mikan asked calmly.

"Yes. A relationship between you two will cement our agreement and you should know that nothing cements ties like making someone a part of the family." Her father answered. "You know him, right? Natsume Hyuuga?"

"We've met." She answered curtly.

"I was hoping you would see him tonight for dinner."

"Okay. I'll head out to buy something to wear and will go straight there. Text me the address?"

"Of course darling." Adrian Sakura answered, barely keeping the relief out of his voice. He had not expected her to agree so easily. In fact he had expected a lot more resistance but he was not about to look the horse in the mouth.

Mikan drove out of the mansion and kept driving. She was long gone by the time anyone realized she'd run away.

* * *

**One Week Later: **

The sound of cloth ripping was loud even with the ringing in her head. Her eyes focused at the man who was holding her against the alley wall. Her baggy t-shirt had now a huge rip at the front and his eyes were fixed on her breasts. His hand moved there as well, leaving only one hand holding her wrists above her head.

His friends were saying something but she tuned them out. She needed to focus. Suddenly there was a noise, maybe a car backfiring at the mouth of the alley. It was all she needed. Her hands were free and her gun was out. Before he realized she was armed, she blew out the kneecap of the man who thought he could touch a woman without her permission.

His friends shouted, started to move towards her. Fools. She had more than one bullet after all. She walked out of the alley leaving behind men who would probably never walk right in their lives. She knew she had let them off easy. Too easy compared to what her family would have done to them.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye when she was tying the ends of her t-shirt together and she knew who had distracted her attackers. So when he followed her back to the motel she did not try to lose him. It was not gratitude. She was just too tired to play games.

She took a shower, trying to scrub the dirt, as well as the feel of the bastard's hands on her body, away. She stepped out and dressed quickly. She had been slammed against the alley wall and her back was already turning mottled blue. Then there were the bruises spreading over her upper arms, collarbone, one cheek and chest.

She packed up her meager belongings and walked out. There was a car in the parking lot and she boosted it without much trouble. It was a battered old thing and she ditched it four blocks away, hailing a taxi. She went straight to her destination. She was not going to leave an easy to follow trail, but she was not exactly running either. Not anymore.

The receptionist eyed her warily, but when she explained that she had been mugged right after she had lost her luggage at the airport, the matronly woman was filled with sympathy. Mikan told them to expect her fiancé Natsume, and that he would take care of the payment. Normally she would not have gotten away with this but her story was quite convincing with the bruises.

When he knocked on her door an hour later, she was as ready as she could be, or so she thought.

"Hello Mikan." He said with a small smile, holding two huge brown paper bags from which came the smell of spices and peanuts. He had brought food.

"Natsume."

She stepped aside to let him in. He headed towards the small dining table in the room.

"Your gun?" She asked and he calmly handed over his 9 mm Sig Sauer after putting the food down. She nodded and sat across from him, watching as he started unpacking the bags. She put his gun behind her, and her own was steady in her hand though not pointed at him. His eyes narrowed at the stiff set of her shoulders, trying to flinch away from her own t-shirt.

"Why?" she asked quietly as he set the pad-thai noodles in front of her.

"I convinced your father that I could never be worth your time if I could not even get you back on my own."

"So he agreed to let you look for me. But what about… earlier today?"

"I found you yesterday. Just hadn't figured out how to approach you. I followed you to the coffee shop and then went ahead to the motel because I did not want you to see me."

"But when I did not get there in time…"

"I doubled back."

She nodded, a little too fast, her eyes a little too bright.

"Mikan…" he started but she shook her head.

"Even if I had not distracted them, you would have still gotten away. Maybe a bit more battered. But you would have."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"The food is getting cold." He offered mildly and she set aside the gun that she had been holding this entire time. Then, after a second's hesitation, she handed his Sig Sauer back to him. He took it with a nod and put it in the shoulder holster he was wearing under his leather jacket. Then he shrugged out of the jacket and picked up his chopsticks. She did the same.

It was a while later, when they were done eating, that she spoke.

"You know that this cannot continue."

"Mikan…"

"Hear me out."

Natsume leaned back in his chair, his expression a study in calm.

"I am not the type to do anything just because I am told to do it. Dating someone is not just anything. I am not doing this."

"What if I had asked you out?"

"I might have said yes. But we'll never know now, will we?"

"Kai, will you go out with me?"

She ignored the nickname. "What if your father asks you to dump me and move on to another woman because that is better for his family?"

"There were two reasons I agreed to this whole thing. Firstly, I am single; second and more importantly, because it was you. Do you really think that I am the type to do anything just because I am told to do it?"

When he said her own words back to her, she had to think. The Natsume she had known was not someone to be trifled with. He was not someone anyone would even consider ordering around, not even when he had been a teenager. He also had another brother who was far more obedient.

"You volunteered for this. For me." After all, it would have been far saner for his father to have asked one of his other sons.

He flashed a quick grin.

"I saw a chance and I took it. If this chance had not come my way, I would still have asked you out eventually. You running, now that took me by surprise." He suddenly laughed. "It was a good kind of surprise."

Mikan realized she was smiling back at him and frowned.

"Why are you doing this Nate? Why this way? Why now?"

"Kai we were friends once, yeah? You used to trust me. So trust me now. Trust me when I say that I am not here because my father or your father said so."

"We've been friends for over a decade you jackass."

Natsume laughed softly. "Is that a yes?"

They were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. She raised a brow at his choice of ringtone, "Don't Fear the Reaper?"

"Your father." He said placing the phone on the table between them.

She stared at it for a moment before answering.

"Hi dad."

There was absolute silence on the other side before her father sighed.

"Are you coming back with him?"

"Yep. He is officially my boyfriend now." She gave a cheeky grin to the man sitting in front of her.

"I was about to say that I would not insist on you dating him anymore, but I see that you have made up your mind. Come home soon." She had a feeling that he did not like the idea much anymore.

"Of course. Do you want to talk to Nate?"

"No. See you soon."

"See you." She handed the phone back to Natsume who took it without comment. She knew her using his nickname was going to bother her father. He might have arranged the boyfriend but he had definitely not realized how much he would dislike the reality of it.

"Now we need to talk." She announced.

"The couch is more comfortable."

"Have to sit straight." Mikan frowned because she knew she should not have said that.

"Meds will help, Kai. No need to be stubborn. The hotel will get the stuff and you know it."

"No drugs."

Natsume scowled. She had always been like this. Not taking medicine unless it was forced down her throat. He should know, he had had to do it once.

"It's not that bad. No more stalling. Tell me what is going on."

"We have common enemies now."

"We've always had common enemies." She waved her hand in a 'move on' gesture and Natsume sighed.

"Thing is, someone is trying to muscle on to our turf, both our turfs in fact. This gets us a united front."

"Which is where we come in." Mikan mused and he nodded.

"I can live with this. I will get more details later. Now, how long have you been holding out on me?"

"I've known you for what? Twelve years? You really think I am going to tell you when I decided I liked you?"

"Well, it has to be after Paris but maybe before Bologna."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You were dating that leggy blonde in Paris and no one could figure out why you were single in Bologna."

"That was a long while ago." He pointed out.

"I am that special. It would have been longer if this chance had not dropped in your lap."

Natsume gave up and laughed. "Not telling you. Now do you want to stay here for the night or go back?"

"How are we going back?"

"It's an hour long flight or a six hour drive. Take your pick."

"You can drive. We'll be there," she looked at her watch and grinned up at him, "just in time for dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: **Thank you for all the reviews and the encouragement guys. This chapter is short but I hope you like it. I will try and update soon.

* * *

**Chapter 2 **

**Twelve Years Ago**

_She pulled aside the loose board and squeezed through the opening. The walls scraped the skin off her arms and she could feel blood starting to drip from the cuts but she ignored it. Getting out was more important than anything. Once she was out, she pulled out the blanket she had left inside near the wall. She pushed the board back in place, as much as she could from outside and then assessed her surroundings. She was standing next to a shack in the middle of a pine forest and all she could see around her was huge trees covered in snow. The snow around her was also pristine except the red splotches made by the blood dripping from her cuts. _

_She took a deep breath, wrapped the blanket around her but left a large part trailing to help cover her tracks and started walking. Her sneakers were soaked within minutes but she ignored them and the cold. She was glad it was day and she had at least a semblance of warmth from the sun. _

_She had no idea how long she had been walking, but it had to have been longer than six hours as the sun was about to set, when she came upon a cabin. She leaned against a tree and watched, wondering if she had gone through all this only to come to her captors. _

_The door opened and a boy stepped out. He could not have been more than eighteen, five or six years older than her. She was sure of it just as she knew he was not one of those who had kidnapped her. She might not have seen their faces, but she recognized all of them by now. _

_She stepped forward and suddenly there was a gun pointed at her. _

_"Who're you?" the boy asked and his voice was neutral, like he did not give a damn about what she had to say. _

_She stared down the barrel of his gun and knew she did not have anything more left. So she told him the truth. "Mikan Sakura." _

_"What are you doing here?" _

_"Escaping my kidnappers."_

_"Come on in. I'm Natsume Hyuuga."_

* * *

**Present**

Mikan ignored the scandalized looks coming her way. She saw Natsume notice, saw his eyes narrow, and then they un-narrowed and all his concentration came back to her. She grinned.

He caught the grin and chuckled.

They were at Palazzo, the most exclusive Italian restaurant in the city. Usually, snobby places were not her thing, but the food here was to die for, so Mikan came here at least once a week. Natsume was the same and so they had run into each other here pretty often. She had fallen asleep in the car, and when he woke her up, they were at the Palazzo.

They had not spoken a lot through dinner. She was tired and sleepy. Plus the close scrutiny of the other patrons had not pleased her, even though they had a mostly secluded table to themselves. The staff here knew them well after all.

Mikan swirled her fork around in the spaghetti. "Why did you bring us here straight? You could have just dropped me home to get ready Nate."

"Don't need to dress up to eat at your favorite place. Plus the way you are, you're going to crash as soon as you get home and I am not depriving you of sleep. Not for food anyways." His eyes were alight with mischief when he finished and she rolled her eyes, but her lips were turned up.

"Chocolate mousse cake or blueberry cheesecake?" he asked her after a moment and she looked up in surprise. "You know my favorite dessert?"

He shrugged, "we both come here often enough."

She started smiling, "you said 'your favorite place'. You came here to run into me." It was a statement. His mouth quirked in a half smile. Mikan's smiled widened.

They shared a blueberry cheesecake for dessert.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **Tha ks for all the reviews guys. You know who you are and you should know I am really really glad to hear from you. It is good to be back :)

Do let me know what you think of this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

When Natsume pulled up in front of her home, she was dozing again.

"We're here, sweet." He touched her shoulder and she blinked at him.

"It's creepy that you came straight to my place, without asking for directions, on our first date." She informed him and he laughed.

"Where do I live?"

"264 Kelwood Drive. But I would still ask for directions." She muttered, unbuckling her seatbelt.

Before she had it off, he was opening her car door. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He pulled her close to shut the car door, but did not move otherwise. She did not pull away. He could feel her breath on his throat and he smiled down at her.

"Lunch tomorrow?" He asked and she grinned, "you're cooking." His smile turned into a grin and he nodded, leaned down and brushed a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled back, and moved away from him. He stood there and watched until she was in the lobby of her high rise and the glass door had closed behind her. Then he got into his car and drove away, still smiling.

Mikan waved to the doorman Henry, ignoring his worried look. Her face was bruised and would remain so for a few days at the very least. She was going to get quite a few worried looks.

As she rode up in the elevator to her thirtieth floor apartment, she pulled out her phone and texted her father. 'Just reached home. Exhausted. See you tomorrow.'

The elevator reached her floor and she walked to her door, but before she could take out her keys, the door opened. Adrian stood there.

Mikan blinked at him. "Hi dad," she finally muttered. He said nothing, his sharp gaze taking in her battered appearance. Then he stepped to the side, clearly asking her to come in. She walked in to see her brother sprawled on the sofa. He sat up in a violently fast motion as soon as he saw her and she realized his eyes were fixed on her cheek.

"I'm fine." She announced before collapsing on the overstuffed loveseat. As she had expected, she sank into its cushions and it did not hurt. She smiled happily. She had furnished her place one piece at a time and they were always perfect for her.

"Hell." Tsubasa said, his voice vibrating with anger and she turned to him. He was sitting with his back ramrod straight, his eyes narrowed.

"I got mugged bro. I know it sucks, but it also happens." She answered and he jerked back in surprise.

"You were mugged?"

"How else do you think I'd get so beaten up? It's not like I am a professional brawler."

"It wasn't Hyuuga?" She heard her father ask and she whirled to him, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"It wasn't Hyuuga." This time, Adrian made it a statement.

"Of course it wasn't Nate! How can you even think that!" She snapped, coming out of her shock.

"The man laughed when he realized that not only had you stood him up, you actually ran from the city to get away from him. He had a point that if he could not convince you to come back, he could not convince you to date him either, but as to the how he did said convincing so quickly… obviously I am going to worry it was him." Adrian told her. Her brother cursed and Mikan turned back to him.

With black hair and black eyes, Tsubasa looked just like their father. He moved with a grace that was born of practicing martial arts all his life and has a temper that could flare at the smallest of things. But he did not look angry right now, he looked unhappy. Mikan sighed, and waved at her father to sit. She did not feel up to moving around to keep both of them in her sight.

Her father came and sat down next to Tsubasa.

"I was staying at a motel and there was a coffee shop nearby. I went for coffee. On my way back, this group grabbed me. I shot their kneecaps out."

"And you got the chance to pull your gun how?" Adrian asked and she sighed again. She knew this was not going to go over well. It was one thing if Natsume had not found her and something happened. It was another all together if he had been around.

"Natsume had already found me. I did not know that. So he went to the motel rather than staying at the coffee shop and risking me finding him. When I did not get there in time, he doubled back, caused a distraction. I used it."

"I see." Tsubasa murmured and he still did not look angry, but he still looked unhappy. Mikan sighed. Her brother had not been in the city when her father had asked her to date Natsume. He had probably used up all his anger when he got back to find that she had run away. He took protective to a whole new level and that was saying something considering that Adrian was pretty damned protective as well, in spite of the arranged boyfriend business.

"How bad is it?" Her father asked and Mikan shrugged. "Back, ribs and shoulders are bruised. It should go down in a few days. Already hurts less than it did this morning."

She saw her father's eyes move on her, his gaze assessing. He might not practice now but he was a doctor and had been a very efficient one when he had actually taken patients. He nodded after a moment.

"Are you sure about Natsume?" Tsubasa asked and she nodded. Tsubasa was one of the very few people who knew she and Natsume had a history but even he was not aware that they had stayed in touch. No one was aware of that.

"I see. Very well. I did start this. But if there ever is so much as a scratch on you on his watch, he will answer to me." Adrian said calmly and Mikan knew he was dead serious. Mikan opened her mouth to speak but he silenced her with a look.

"I might have asked you to date him but that does not mean he can get away with being a bad boyfriend."

"Right. If you both are done, can I go sleep now?"

"Good night sweetheart." Adrian said as he stood up. Mikan stood up too and then looked up since her father was standing right in front of her. He gave her a quick and careful hug. "Welcome back home darling." He murmured and then he was moving away.

Tsubasa took his place and gently chucked her on the chin. "You get better and then we will talk about you choosing to run away but not coming to me."

"Bro…" she started but he shook his head.

"Once you get better, darling. Now come lock this door and then off to bed with you." Tsubasa murmured and she walked him to the door. Then she locked it, walked straight to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed, fully clothed. She managed to toe off one shoe but was asleep before she could get rid of the second one.

She woke up to a loud ringing sound. It took her a long moment to realize it was her landline. She reached out to grab it but it was out of her reach. With a curse, she wriggled closer and picked up the receiver and bit out, "what?"

"Good morning to you too sunshine." Natsume answered and she groaned.

"You did agree to lunch," he said mildly, before continuing, "tell your doorman to let me come up."

"Ms. Sakura?" Jones, the day watchman's voice was careful.

"Hey Jones, send him up." She told him and he hung up after a quick okay. Mikan dragged herself out of bed, studiously avoided looking in a mirror and went to the front door. There was a knock just as she reached and she unlocked the door to let in Natsume. His brows snapped together at her appearance but she raised a hand to shut him up.

"I need a shower." She told him then turned and walked stiffly to her bedroom and waiting bathroom. She could not wait for the hot shower since she knew it would help soothe her aching muscles. She was in too much pain to even go for coffee first and that was saying something.

Mikan stood in the shower for a long time, letting the hot water sluice over her, and slowly the ache in her muscles dulled. She finally stepped out and toweled herself dry. Then she wrapped a huge towel around herself and walked out. She came to an abrupt stop at the sight of Natsume sprawled out on her bed.

"What the hell?" She asked even as he sat up. He silently pointed to a mug of coffee that waited on her bedside table. She gingerly sat down on the bed and took a sip. The coffee was perfect.

His hands settled on her shoulders, his heat even more effective than the hot water had been. He slowly started massaging her skin and she sighed in pleasure. He moved closer until the heat of him was against her back, his hands still massaging his shoulders before slowly moving down her arms.

She tipped the mug back for another sip of coffee, only to realize she had polished it off. With a small sigh, she placed the mug aside.

Natsume drew her against his chest completely.

"I'll get you wet." She told him, even as she knew the water from her damp hair soaked into his shirt. He laughed softly, resting his forehead in the curve of her neck.

"I don't mind. But right now, I need you to lie down on your stomach. I brought a gel that should help with the pain as well as soothe all the scraped skin you have."

"I need to get dressed." She told him, belatedly realizing as the coffee kicked in that she was only wearing a towel.

"And then you will have to get half undressed to bare your back." He pointed out. Mikan knew she was still too exhausted when she actually contemplated the idea.

"Out." She snapped and he moved away. She stood up after the door closed behind him and made her wobbly way to her closet. She dressed quickly, pulling on sweat pants and a tank top. She wanted to look better considering this was technically their second date, but she could not get worked up over it. Not to mention, Natsume had seen her in all kind of clothes over the years.

She collapsed on her stomach on the bed. "Nate," she called out and a moment later the door to her bedroom opened.

He settled on the bed next to her and gently shifted her hair off her back and shoulders.

"This might sting a little." He told her before he started massaging the gel into her skin. It did not sting, but it felt cold and it burned a little at the same time. He kept shifting her tank top around to gain access to her skin but did not crib about it, not once. Once he was done with her back, he pulled it back in place.

"Turn around." Natsume's voice sounded strange, but she obeyed. He gently massaged the gel into the bruises on her throat, her face and her collarbone. His fingers hesitated at the top of her tank top but she pulled it down for him, baring half of her sternum. She was still decent, but all the bruises were now bared. His eyes were focused on the marks on her chest with a scary intensity. She was glad to pull her tank top up once he was done with the gel. He then very carefully massaged it into her cheek and the left bicep she had forgotten about.

"Rest. I'll get you some breakfast."

"What time is it?" Natsume grinned at her question.

"Around one."

"Feels like I just fell asleep." Mikan muttered.

"Rest." He ordered again but Mikan shook her head, trying to sit up.

"I'm not really hungry Nate. And anyway, if you can be up, so can I. I don't think you slept any more than me all of last week."

"Fine. I'll get you something to eat and then we will both crash."

"We'll both eat." She said stubbornly and he looked at the ceiling. Then he looked back at her for a moment before pulling out his phone. He called someone and Mikan realized with a start he was ordering pizza.

"Peppers, olives, tomatoes, more peppers and corn." She told him and he nodded, repeating it. He ordered a pepperoni pizza for himself, gave her address and hung up.

Mikan made to get out of bed and he scowled but he did pull her up to her feet when she extended her hand. They walked to the living room together and he settled next to her on the couch after getting them both a glass of juice. There was only cranberry juice in her house but she knew he liked it.

She rested her head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her. With a sigh she leaned closer to his body heat. He had always felt really warm to her.

"Dad and Tsubasa were here last night." She told him and felt him nod.

"They were angry, especially Tsubasa. They're also not happy that I got hurt."

"Understandable."

"You do not know my brother." She warned him and he turned to face her.

"I do know your brother. I have met him, I have heard talk of him, and I have heard you talk about him. Tsubasa Sakura is probably hunting down those bastards who hurt you right this moment."

Mikan gaped. It had not even occurred to her that Tsubasa might do that. But he so would.

"It is also the only reason I can be so calm about the state you are in." Natsume said and she closed her mouth shut. There was no arguing that she was surrounded by over protective men. But she could not really get mad over this one. If anyone had hurt Tsubasa, she would be out there hunting them down as well.

She rested her forehead against his shoulder and allowed all the tension to seep out of her. She wanted a break and was in no mood to let anything bother her.

When the pizza arrived, she dug in. When they finished, Natsume cleaned up while she shuffled back to bed. He joined her a few minutes later and she fell asleep spooned against him, his one arm her pillow and the other flung over her waist. His breath caressed the beck of her neck.

"Sleep, Kai."

"Night Nate." She whispered back, and was out within moments. Natsume was awake for longer but in the end he was too exhausted to stay awake for long.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Thanks for the reviews guys :) Please do keep reviewing. It is awesome to read what you think of my story.

* * *

**Chapter 4 **

Mikan woke up to an empty bed. She did not need to check to know Natsume was gone. She hugged his pillow and tried to go back to sleep but could not fall asleep. Finally she got up, feeling surprisingly better. A note lay on her bedside table.

_Something came up. Had to go. _

_Will call you later. _

She put the note back where it had been and headed into the living room. It was the middle of the night and she was wide awake. She turned on her spare laptop and started checking her email. She needed to retrieve her car. It had her cell and her laptop and she already missed them both. On second thought, she decided to ask Tsubasa to get her car and stuff.

Decision made, she emailed her brother the location of the car along with a request to get it back for her as soon as possible. She worked as a freelance security consultant. She had always been inherently curious and so she had found work that meant she got paid to dig for secrets. Now she started putting feelers out to find out exactly what had made her father ask her to date Natsume. Nate had said they had a common enemy now. She was going to find out who.

* * *

**Twelve Years Ago**

_"Done eavesdropping?" Natsume asked and Mikan poked her head down from the loft in the cabin. She had been listening to him call someone in his family and inform them to get in touch with her father. _

_"I gave you his number. Why not let me call him straight up?" She asked bluntly. _

_"You're Adrian Sakura's daughter. Anyone who kidnapped you should have known that they were dead if your father ever got his hands on them and he would never stop looking for them. Yet they kidnapped you. So I am fairly certain that more than just kidnapping is going on here. If the news reaches him in such a way that no one else finds out you have escaped, he will have time to clean house. If he needs to, that is." _

_"But you are making an educated guess that he does need to clean house." _

_Natsume nodded. _

_"That does make sense. But I will speak to him before this day is over." It was a statement, not a question and Natsume nodded. _

_"Now since you are awake, come tell me how you got taken." _

_Mikan came down and sat on a chair across from him. He had helped her clean up and then she had fallen unconscious while he was still bandaging her wounds. She knew she was lucky to still be alive, death by hypothermia was still death. When she had woken up, she had been buried under a pile of blankets on the loft and he had been speaking to someone on the phone. _

_She had only given him a bare idea of who might be after her before she had collapsed. So now she gave him all the gory details. He did not interrupt her but she could see his expression hardening. _

_"There you have it." She said when she was finished. He was scowling fiercely. _

_"They're dead." He told her and she stared him in shock. What he had said was that they were dead, even if her father did not get them, Natsume would. It was not a promise to be made lightly and not something she would have ever expected from a member of the Hyuuga family. _

_"But you're a Hyuuga!" She finally managed to say. His scowl deepened. _

_"So what?" He snapped. _

_"So you guys never break your word! This is not something…" She petered off when he started grinning. _

_"What?" Now it was her turn to snap. _

_"Nothing. You're funny." Before she could interrogate him further, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, held up his hand for silence and answered. _

_There was silence for a long moment then he held the phone out to her. _

_"Hi Dad." Mikan said quietly._

* * *

**Present**

Mikan strode into her father's office, her expression impassive, the heels of her boots clicking loudly on the marble floor.

"Miss Sakura?" The receptionist stood up, her expression a mixture of worry and confusion.

"I am here to see my father." She answered even as she walked past.

"But he is in the middle of a meeting!" The woman called out but Mikan just switched directions to the conference room and banged the door open. Adrian looked at her in surprise.

"Mikan. This is an unexpected pleasure."

"I need to speak with you." Her words were curt and Adrian frowned.

"Excuse me gentlemen. We will continue this later." He said and headed out of the room and towards his personal office. Mikan followed on his heels. As soon as they were inside, Adrian rounded on her, but his expression was one of concern not anger.

"If everything okay?"

"No," she answered shortly and began to pace.

"See dad, I am having a hard time believing that the reason _you _asked me to date a professional assassin is not because we need to have a united front, or even that we have any common enemies. It is because _you _started a war and dating a member of the Hyuuga family is extra protection for me. But instead of telling me this, you actually thought to keep me in the dark. Tell me I am wrong."

"You're correct." Adrian bit out and stalked to his chair.

He motioned for his daughter to take the seat opposite him and she grudgingly sat.

"I can see you are angry…"

"Angry does not begin to cover it. I am not fourteen anymore! Why for god's sake did you lie to me?"

"It is complicated." He snapped.

"Uncomplicate it and tell me, otherwise believe me dad, I will be a walking security nightmare that will give even Natsume a run for his money."

"You're being unreasonable."

"You started it! I run a bloody security company. How could you even think to keep me in the dark about something like this? Not to mention what were you thinking taking a hit out on someone like Jackson?"

Adrian threw up his hands. "If you know so much why are you even here?"

"Because it does not feel right! You're not the ordering hit type, and if you would, you'd make sure he died!" She was almost shouting now, but at her words, her father calmed almost immediately.

"Thank you for that. Your brother did not even give me that much credit."

She crossed her arms and glared.

"Right. Well, as crazy as it sounds, I actually did not order a hit on Jackson. It is common knowledge I want him dead so if I was going to order a hit, the requirement would be for it to look like an accident, not a sniper taking potshots at his car." _Please, _Adrian's expression said and Mikan believed him. He would never be sloppy like that.

"So what happened?"

"My guess is someone wanted us to go to war and they got their wish. I tried contacting Jackson but he is feeling kind of pissy. I can't even blame him. His wife was in that damned car."

"Oh shit!"

Adrian nodded. It was common knowledge that Jackson loved his wife and was completely unreasonable when it came to her.

"Let me go talk to him."

"Like hell!"

"Dad," she drew the word out and Adrian dropped his head back on his chair.

"No way in hell. I contacted Hyuuga and begged her to make one of her sons date you so Jackson would leave you alone. Even he in all his fury knows better to mess with the Hyuuga family. I did not do that just so you could go traipsing on a suicide mission."

"But…"

"No."

"I will take Natsume." She got out quickly before he could shut her down again.

"No." Adrian's voice was firm and she scowled at him.

"You're being unreasonable."

"You're my daughter." He retorted, then added as an afterthought, "if you go in spite of my no, I will escalate this war to the point that peace would be impossible until one of us is dead."

Mikan swore.

"Stop swearing young lady. Now get going. I have a meeting to finish." Adrian ordered but she could see his lips were twitching to fight a grin. He was the one who had taught her to swear after all.

He stood up and came around his desk. Mikan got up and gave him a quick hug and then walked out of his office. Adrian shook his head, bemused and went back to his meeting. He was sure Natsume was going to get a lot of flak for not telling her the truth. He could not help but grin, glad he was not the only one of the receiving end of the wrath of Mikan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: **A very very happy new year 2014 to everyone :) I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you, filled with warmth and happiness.

Thanks for reading and do review!

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

Mikan waited impatiently for her brother to show up with her car. He had called just as she had left her father's office, saying that he was on his way to her place. She had come back to meet him and had been waiting for half an hour. There was no sign of Tsubasa.

She checked the time before calling him again. He answered when she had started to worry.

"Almost there little sister." He said and hung up. Mikan scowled at her phone.

He peeled in moments later, using drift to park the car. Mikan's eyes narrowed. Tsubasa jumped out and headed towards her grinning widely.

"Sorry for the wait." He said before pulling her into a bear hug.

"What happened to you?" She asked extracting herself from him and he chuckled.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He answered with a careless wave of his hand and Mikan suddenly had a suspicion that she knew exactly why he was so cheerful.

"Did you find the men who tried to mug me?"

Tsubasa shrugged but his grin widened. Mikan sighed. No wonder he was in a great mood. He had already vented to his heart's content. She still could not muster up any sympathy for the idiots though. They had deserved it.

"You look better." Tsubasa observed as he tossed her the car keys.

"Yeah. Nate brought some gel yesterday which really helped." She answered with a shrug.

"Good then. Now you can explain your decision to run away." Tsubasa threw an arm around her shoulders and started walking them both to the elevator.

"Ummm... bro… I have to go…" she hedged and his arm tightened and he quickened his pace.

"Later." That one word was curt, all the previous joviality gone.

Mikan sighed and stayed silent until they were in her apartment. Tsubasa threw himself on the couch and then glared at her.

"It's a bit hard to explain."

"Try."

"I panicked."

Tsubasa's eyes narrowed at that. "Explain."

Mikan ran her hands through her hair and then took a seat across from him. "Look you know how my last relationship went."

Tsubasa made a move on gesture with his hand and Mikan scowled. It seemed there would be no sympathy whatsoever for her today.

"So I panicked when dad asked me to date again, especially Natsume. It was so out of the blue and I did not want to have another relationship."

"Did not? So you really are okay with dating Hyuuga?"

"Yeah. We'll figure it out. But at that time… I just did not want to deal with any of it. Even Natsume knew about my breakup so… it would have been humiliating if this was dad's way of throwing a pity party. It did not even occur to me that this was not related to me at all."

Tsubasa sighed but nodded. "It was dumb, was what it was."

Mikan shrugged. She agreed with him now but she also was not sure if she would have trusted that Natsume actually wanted to date her if they had met for dinner as planned.

"Dad called. He said you found out about Jackson and reamed him about it." Tsubasa grinned suddenly and Mikan chuckled.

"He deserved it and believe you me, I am going to smack Nate for keeping this from me."

"You've already been beaten to the punch there little sister."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Last night his younger brothers got into some scrape and Natsume was the one to get them out of it. I heard they spent most of last night and this morning in a police cell."

I stared, my jaw slack and Tsubasa laughed. "Yep. You know how Ruka and Youichi like to raise hell and how often their shenanigans go sideways."

"And once they got home, their mother would have made them wish they were back in prison." I said and Tsubasa shuddered. Anyone who had ever met Mrs. Hyuuga knew to be wary of her. She was the sweetest woman, all charm and kindness. She also handled all the not legal aspects of their business and had trained her sons in combat and strategy. Mr. Hyuuga handled the legitimate business and he was the only one who was not scared of her, not even a little. Then again, Mikan knew that her sons did not fear her either, even though she kicked their collective asses whenever they got caught doing something dumb.

Tsubasa watched his sister speculatively. He had met Viska Hyuuga and he had reason to shudder but as far as he knew, his sister hadn't. So for her to be so intimately aware of the fact that dealing with her would be worse than any prison cell meant she knew far more about the Hyuuga family than he had initially thought.

"What?" She snapped.

"How well do you know Hyuuga?"

"Well enough." She retorted and Tsubasa smirked.

"We come from the same social circle brother. I have run into him plenty of times over the years." She explained and he nodded but she could see he was reading more into this. She scowled. She did not want him to figure things out. This arranged dating aside, her brother would not take the reality well and her father would blow his fuse if he ever found out.

"Right. Anyhow, I have to head to work now. Catch you later sis!" Tsubasa was gone in moments and Mikan breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe her brother would leave it alone. She did not even want to contemplate how he would react to finding out that Natsume had always meant far more to her than some social acquaintance. After all, that would involve explaining what had happened twelve years ago and she had no wish to rehash that ancient history.

She pushed those thoughts away. Only two people knew exactly what had happened then, her and Natsume, and neither of them would be spilling. Everyone else who knew, only had fragments of information. Those fragments were harmless and impossible to use to deduce the actual truth.

She pushed away from the couch and grabbed her purse before heading out. She had to speak with Natsume.

* * *

**Twelve Years Ago: **

_Mikan could not see anything from her hiding place but she could hear them. Every crash made her try to hold herself tighter, make herself smaller, pray that she would not be found. _

_"I told you I was not hiding some kid." Natsume said, his tone a mixture of haughty and angry. "Now who is going to clean up this damned place?" _

_There was a thud and Mikan stuffed her fist in her mouth to stop herself from making any sound. _

_There was a cough and then Natsume spoke again, his voice muffled. "You trash my place because some boy outsmarted you and now you think hitting me will make you any less incompetent?" _

_There was another thud and then… Mikan bit her fist to keep from crying out. They were beating him and they were not stopping. Finally one of the men asked the rest to stop. There were some more thuds and then it came to a halt. She heard the men wonder if Natsume was truly hiding her, but in the end, they did not think so. He had mentioned a boy, and it seemed that, combined with the fact that he had not spilled to save his own skin, was more than enough to convince them. _

_She heard them leave but she stayed put, not daring to even move. _

_After a while she heard some noise, chairs being scraped along the floor. Then there was the sound of water running and a sudden hiss of pain. Natsume was up and cleaning up his wounds. She felt a little of her tension ease. She sat listening as he slowly cleaned up the place. _

_She knew better than to try and speak to Natsume. Not yet. Not until he gave the all clear. Not until they knew for sure that they were not being watched. _

_It was hours before there was a light tap on the panel that concealed her and then Natsume was sliding the door open. She blinked owlishly in the brightness, even though he had only one light on. He extended his hand and she took it, allowing him to pull her out and to her feet. Her cramped muscles protested, but as she got a good look at him she knew it was nothing compared to how he must have been feeling. _

_Natsume slid the board back in place and then motioned for her to follow him. As she got to the table she realized he had already cooked dinner. _

_"Natsume… I…" _

_"Need to eat and rest. You've still not recovered from the number they did on you." He answered and she blinked back tears. He had cleaned up, but she could see the cuts on his temple and the entire right side of his face was bruised. He was wearing a turtleneck shirt over jeans so she could see nothing else but it was obvious he was badly hurt. _

_They ate in silence but afterwards she glared until he let her clean up. When it was time to sleep, she looked dubiously at the bed and then at him. He had made a makeshift bed for himself, after she had showed up, near the actual one on the loft. She did not think that the floor could be comfortable for him, no matter how many blankets covered it, especially when he was already hurt. _

_"No." He answered the unasked question and she scowled. _

_"But…" _

_"My mother does not allow for her sons to lack in manners. This is nothing compared to what she would do to me if I let a girl sleep on the floor while I sleep in a bed." _

_When she did not budge, he turned off the light and moved to his own bed and before she could protest, he was wrapped up in his blankets. "Good night Kai." _

_Slowly she moved to the bed and slid in under the covers. No one had ever called her Kai. No one had ever called her anything but Mikan. _

_"Good night Nate." She whispered._

* * *

**Present: **

He woke to the sound of sheets sliding against skin. She pressed her body to his back, threw her arm around his waist and her leg over his thigh.

"This is definitely new." Natsume murmured.

She smiled against his skin. "You sneaked out of my bed. It is only fair to sneak into yours."

He nodded, as if her logic made perfect sense.

"Night, Kai." His voice was a bare whisper.

"Night, Nate." She whispered back.

His breathing evened out as he fell asleep again and Mikan pressed a small kiss between his shoulder blades. Their talk could wait till later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: **Hi guys! I am so sorry for taking so long to update. This year has been really busy so far and we had a wedding in the family. So was very busy with that.

Thanks for reading and do review!

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

**Twelve Years Ago: **

_Mikan smiled wide as the place came into view. "This is awesome!" She said, her voice vibrating with delight and excitement. Natsume grinned back, glad to see her finally acting like the kid she was. She jumped out of the car as soon as he stopped and started running, before skidding to a sudden halt. She turned back for him, laughing he caught up with her. _

_They raced to the stables and she smacked him on the arm when she realized he had let her win. Natsume just grinned and introduced her to her horse. She spent the day riding on the grounds of the manor where they had just arrived. There were plenty of guards so she was not worried for even a minute about being kidnapped again. _

_When Natsume waved her over, she reluctantly came. He rolled her eyes when she reached and helped her off the horse. _

_"I swear once you have some food in you, I will let you…" Natsume stopped mid sentence, frowning at the car that had just come into view. Then he started swearing. _

_"Stay here." He said tersely before starting to jog towards the driveway. Mikan watched as he made the car stop as soon as he caught up to it. He started speaking to someone in the back through the window. When the door opened, in what she guessed was invitation, he stayed where he was. Finally he stepped back from the car and closed the door. The car turned and left. _

_Natsume started walking back and Mikan could see he was furious. _

_"We're leaving." He said shortly and kept on walking to their car. Three steps later he turned and waited until she was next to him. They left within minutes. _

_"Who was that?" Mikan asked later as they had lunch together in a fast food restaurant. _

_She could see him trying to figure out what to say to her and she shook her head. "If you're going to lie, don't bother answering." _

_He smiled then. "One lie." _

_"No. Not even one." She retorted and his smile widened. _

_"It is the beginning of a quote." He told her the quote then, as well as who had been in the car. He even told her why they had left and she nodded. "So we're going to a hotel?" _

_"Too easy to trace us that way. You have any ideas?" _

_"I might." Natsume laughed outright when she told him what she had in mind. _

_"That's brilliant kiddo." He said fondly and she beamed. _

_"Now you have to teach me how to handle a gun the way you do." _

_"Done." _

**Present: **

Mikan woke with a jerk, her hand going straight to the holster at the side of her bed where she kept her gun. Her gun was gone and she sat up in panic before she realized this was not her bed. She glanced at Natsume just in time to see him sit up. He pointed to the headboard and she turned to see that his inbuilt holsters were on the headboard rather the side of the bed frame.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Bad dream?" Natsume asked and she nodded, taking in another deep breath. The only other option was to grab the gun and put it under her pillow before trying to sleep again. She refused to do that, especially with Natsume next to her.

He settled, with his back resting on the pillows and extended his arm so it curled around her waist. Then in one smooth move he pulled her next to him and the comforter above them both.

Mikan's cheek rested on his shoulder, his skin sleep-warm. She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. She had expected amusement but his expression was something she did not want to label or understand.

"What?" She grumped and his eyes warmed, their corners crinkling in the beginning of a smile.

"Talk to me." He told her and she slumped down.

"Kai." He drew her name out and she cuddled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You really think that will work?"

"You really think pushing me is a good idea?" She retorted, meeting his gaze again. She immediately knew it was a mistake. He was not almost smiling anymore, but he had that look again. The one she refused to label.

He started stroking her back, the motion soothing. He reached up with his other hand and gently cupped her cheek.

"Anything I can do?" He asked quietly and she held him tighter. Natsume did not say another word, but he slid down and took her with him, until he was lying on his back and she was curled into his side, still holding onto him. He pulled the comforter up and tucked it under her chin before turning to face her. But instead of the interrogation she had expected, he just pulled her closer and closed his eyes.

She stayed alert for a long time but he did not once open his eyes, even though she didn't think he was sleeping. Slowly, bit by bit she relaxed and then allowed herself to fall asleep.

Natsume felt her relax in sleep but did not open his eyes. He kept mulling over everything he knew about Mikan and tried to figure out exactly what could be giving her nightmares that she would refuse to even acknowledge.

When Mikan woke next, Natsume was gone. The comforter was tucked around her. She had just slid out of bed when the bedroom door opened and he entered dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair still damp from a shower and his feet bare.

She blinked up at him.

"I was just coming to wake you up. Breakfast is ready." Natsume said, his eyes crinkling at the corners in the hint of a smile.

Mikan made a pushing motion with her hands and he left the room. She took a deep breath, gave in and fanned herself. Natsume Hyuuga was a treat for the eyes and she needed a long moment to work through the fact that he was hers. _For the moment, at least._ Her eyes narrowed as she remembered why she had come to talk to him the night before. The delicious smell of French toast wafted into the room. She padded to the washroom to freshen up. Their talk could happen after they'd eaten together.

Natsume observed as his girlfriend quickly polished off her breakfast and stood up.

"What's the rush?" He asked and she shrugged, heading to the kitchen and starting to clean up.

He finished his food in two bites but before he could get up, she was there, taking his plate and heading back. Natsume followed her but stayed out of her way as she loaded the dishwasher. When she was done, she glanced at him, but then her gaze skittered away. He moved quickly, getting into her space, trapping her between the kitchen counter and his body. She rested her hands on the counter and leaned back to look up at him.

"Talk to me, Kai." He repeated his words from last night.

"You lied to me."

He jerked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You really thought I would not find out? This was never about us," she pointed at his chest and then at herself, "it was about my father being over protective and you playing along."

"Jackson is a common enemy now." He said but he knew she would not see his play on words as anything but a lie, had known it even then but done it anyways.

"You lied."

"Yes."

She nodded. "What else did you lie about?"

"What…" He started before it clicked. His arms went around her and he held onto her tightly. She was rigid, her spine straight, arms at her side.

"Not about that Kai. Never about that."

"One lie. A thousand lies." She quoted and he rested his forehead against hers.

"One fall. A thousand falls." He answered.

She nodded jerkily. He kissed her brow.

"It was not a lie. Not about us."

She reached up and brushed her lips across his cheek. "There. Is. No. Us." Her words and the finality of her tone made him jerk back and stare at her. She had kissed him as she had broken up with him.

"You slept in my arms last night. You feel what we have." He said, voice raspy.

"I wanted to know what we could have had."

"One chance. Just one."

"Natsume." Her voice was hoarse, her throat hurt and she knew she would soon cry. She hadn't thought she would break up with him over this, not until she had said the words. But she had to. She could not allow lies between them. Any more time with him, and separating would hurt too much.

"I am beg…" he started and she slapped her hand on his mouth. The tears finally spilled.

"You will break me." She told him and he caught her hand at his mouth, pressed a kiss to her palm and pushed it aside.

"If I do, I will put you back together. I will not walk away."

She cupped his face. "No lies."

"No lies." He whispered. She kissed him.


End file.
